Gold and Silver – Page 261 – Republic of Mining

Barrick recognized for youth technical education in Papua New Guinea (Beyond Borders – January 30, 2014)

January 31, 2014

A vocational training organization has recognized Barrick as a major supporter in the drive to expand on-the-job training opportunities in the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea.

The Laigam Appropriate Technology Centre (LATC) presented an award to Barrick at the school’s ninth graduation ceremony, held in late 2013. Barrick provides on-the-job training to LATC students at the Porgera mine through the company’s Operations Education Sponsorship program. Since 2007, the company has provided placements for a total of 71 students from the LATC, now one of the Porgera district’s most thriving vocational technical institutions.

The organization’s connection to Barrick dates back to 2004 when a former Porgera mine manager donated four second-hand computers to the LATC, whose inaugural class had just five students.

LATC principal Ronaldo Diaz commended Barrick and several other companies for providing on-the-job training for LATC students over the years. “An on-the-job training program is useless without the assistance of companies such as Barrick,” Diaz says.

Goldcorp says ‘significant number’ of Osisko investors back hostile bid – by Bertrand Marotte (Globe and Mail – January 30, 2014)

January 30, 2014

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

MONTREAL — Goldcorp Inc. says a “significant number” of Osisko Mining Corp. shareholders support its $2.6-billion hostile offer to take over Osisko and that the targeted company appears to have nothing to offer investors as an alternative.

Vancouver-based Goldcorp made the statements in a news release Thursday responding to Montreal-based Osisko’s launch of legal action in Quebec Superior Court on Wednesday to block the bid.

Osisko also alleges that Goldcorp misused confidential information it got in on-and-off merger talks going back more than five years.

“Goldcorp’s offer reflects the current market environment for gold and gold equities and provides a strong premium based on any reasonable valuation metric,” Goldcorp president and chief executive officer Chuck Jeannes said.

“Osisko has communicated its intention to explore value-maximizing alternatives but without new information their only strategy appears to be to wait and hope for an improved valuation.”

COLUMN-Gold rallies won’t sustain without more China, India buying – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – January 29, 2014)

January 29, 2014

http://www.reuters.com/

Clyde Russell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own.

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Jan 29 (Reuters) – Gold’s positive start to the year seems to be based more on hope than any real change to the factors that saw the precious metal shed 28 percent last year.

Spot bullion has gained 4.25 percent since the start of the year to the close of $1,256.09 an ounce on Jan. 28, with China and India factors helping to drive the rally.

The optimistic view for gold is that top buyer China will continue to buy record amounts and that India, which was supplanted by its Asian neighbour last year, will ease the restrictions that crimped its demand last year.

Taking India first, and the gold bulls have taken heart from comments on Jan. 27 by finance ministry officials that the curbs on gold imports will be reviewed by the end of March. India progressively hiked import taxes to a record 10 percent last year and imposed a requirement that 20 percent of imported gold must be fabricated and exported.

Osisko CEO says Goldcorp’s $2.6-billion hostile bid bad for mining sector – by Peter Koven (National Post – January 29, 2014)

January 29, 2014

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

TORONTO – The chief executive of Osisko Mining Corp. thinks the hostile bid for his company is not only bad for his shareholders, but negative for other investors in the gold mining space.

Speaking at the TD Securities Mining Conference in Toronto, Sean Roosen said if offers as low as Goldcorp Inc.’s $2.6-billion hostile bid become acceptable in the sector, then it is hard to see how portfolio managers can make money investing in emerging growth stories like Osisko.

“Losing access to a very entrepreneurial mid-tier [miner] that’s been a top performer in the space and the management team that built it, most [fund managers] feel that’s not helping their investment model,” he told reporters.

“And I think from an overall standpoint of investors, if you’re going to invest in growth assets and they’re going to trade at a zero premium at the end of the day, that doesn’t really make a business model for portfolio managers.”

Gold stocks best performing market sector so far this year – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – January 27, 2014)

January 27, 2014

http://www.mineweb.com/

Hong Kong based Financial Services Group, REORIENT, is decidedly bullish on gold, and on gold stocks in particular, and has set out its reasoning in a new sales commentary.

LONDON (MINEWEB) – Investors in gold equities have had little cheer in the past couple of years – indeed the period has seen a sell-off not experienced in the sector since the Bre-X fraud exposure of 1996, which had a huge downside impact on gold stocks, particularly in the junior gold sector. But so far this year – admittedly it is very early days yet – gold stocks have proven to be the sector to be in and while the major global stock indices have drifted downwards so far many gold stocks have risen by up to 30% or more.

Is this the signal the market has been waiting for to get back into what has to have been the most oversold stock market sector of the past two years?

Hong Kong based Global Financial Services specialist, the REORIENT Group, certainly thinks this is the case and is distinctly bullish on the gold stock market sector. In a note the Group puts forward a number of factors which it sees as distinctly bullish for gold stocks – and they may well have a strong point here with all of these:

UPDATE 2-Barrick to re-calculate gold reserves at $1,100 -CEO – by Nicole Mordant and Allison Martell (Reuters U.S. – January 23, 2014)

January 24, 2014

http://www.reuters.com/

Jan 23 (Reuters) – Barrick Gold Corp will use a lower-than-expected gold price to estimate its bullion reserves, its chief executive said on Thursday, making some of its in-the-ground gold uneconomical to mine and may result in asset writedowns.

The world’s biggest gold producer will re-calculate its reserves at a gold price of $1,100, down from $1,500 a year ago, resulting in a decrease in its reserve base, CEO Jamie Sokalsky said.

At 140 million ounces, Barrick’s reserves are the biggest in the industry and equal to about 20 years of production for the miner. Reserves are those parts of an ore body that are economically feasible to extract.

“We’ve taken a conservative approach this year and we’re going to value our reserves at $1,100 per ounce as well as running the mine plans at $1,100 per ounce,” Sokalsky said at a conference in Whistler, British Columbia.

Gold’s price rise in 12 of the past 13 years made lower-grade ore profitable to extract, allowing miners to expand their reserves.

UPDATE 2-Ghana puts plans for mining windfall tax on hold – by Kwasi Kpodo (Reuters India – January 24, 2014)

January 24, 2014

http://in.reuters.com/

ACCRA, Jan 24 (Reuters) – Ghana has put on hold plans to introduce a windfall tax on mining profits, Finance Minister Seth Terkper told Reuters, a move that will delight struggling gold firms but could undermine efforts to reduce the country’s budget deficit.

Ghana is Africa’s second-biggest gold producer and the precious metal is a large source of revenues for the country whose government is seeking to maintain rapid economic growth while reining in the deficit and inflation.

But the decision comes after President John Mahama said this week his country had come under pressure from the industry over the planned tax, with companies warning it would lead to job cuts due to a steep fall in gold prices.

“It’s on hold in parliament and we are consulting,” Terkper told Reuters late on Thursday.

Terkper had told parliament during the annual budget in November that the government would impose the tax, which it has been trying to push through since 2012. No timeframe was given at the time.

Gold production soars to record in 2013 despite price drop: study – by Peter Koven (National Post – January 24, 2014)

January 24, 2014

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

TORONTO – Despite plummeting gold prices, global production of the precious metal reached a record in 2013 for the fourth-consecutive year.

The result appeared in a report on Thursday from the precious metals consultancy Thomson Reuters GFMS. In addition to dispelling theories about “peak gold,” the study shows that gold miners are churning out the metal at a furious pace, even though they are facing severe margin pressure.

Total gold mine supply reached 2,982 tonnes last year, according to GFMS estimates, up 4.1% from 2012. But Rhona O’Connell, head of metals research and forecasting at GFMS, said the final number will likely be higher as fourth quarter production guidance from miners has been stronger than expected.

There are a few explanations for this uptick in production, which seems counter-intuitive in such a tough market.

According to GFMS, many mines boosted their output. In some cases, miners may be processing greater quantities of ore in order to maintain revenue and contain costs at lower gold prices.

Barrick going lean at Hemlo – by Carl Clutchey (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – January 24, 2014)

January 24, 2014

Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

While Barrick Gold sells off mines and other assets to remain profitable, the company’s renowned Hemlo camp remains one of its flagship operations. But to stay that way, it faces a lean 2014 in the aftermath of a steep plunge in the price of gold.

Hemlo operations general manager Andrew Baumen said the 30-year-old mining camp is going “crew by crew” to come up with ways to keep costs down and make the operation more efficient.

“That’s our big push right now,” Baumen said Thursday from the Highway 17 complex about 40 kilometres east of Marathon.
“This is all being driven by the collapse in the gold price,” he added. “We’re operating at a break-even point.”

Baumen said if Hemlo can realize $19 million in overall operational savings and efficiencies, it should be able to remain on track to continue operating for another five to six years as previously forecast.

Hemlo, which consists of the David Bell and William’s mines, remains a large employer with a combination of 800 direct employees and contractors.

NEWS RELEASE: ROM’s New Interactive Gallery Explores The World Of Modern Mining

January 23, 2014

Barrick Gold Corporation Gallery Opens At the ROM

January 23, 2014 – The Barrick Gold Corporation Gallery is now open at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). The gallery, located in the ROM’s Teck Suite of Galleries: Earth’s Treasures (Level 2), is an interactive 600 square foot space, with multi-touch, animated displays, multi-media presentations and more.

This new permanent gallery showcases a range of mineral specimens as well as presentations on the global mining industry, including stories about mining, and how the mining industry impacts our daily lives. The digitally enhanced games and other interactives, such as a touch wall are the most advanced, hands-on, user-driven visitor experiences in the ROM.

“The ROM is delighted to share the Barrick Gold Corporation Gallery in our Teck Suite of Galleries with our visitors and inspire them to discover more about mining. From the interactive games to specimen displays, this gallery illustrates the importance of mining in our daily lives and discusses the social and environmental responsibilities surrounding mining as well as our responsibilities as consumers of products of the Earth. We are grateful to our partners and sponsors, including Barrick Gold Corporation and our Advisory Council, for their valued support,” said Janet Carding, ROM Director and CEO.

INTERVIEW: McEwen on Goldcorp’s hostile bid, M&A opportunity and market bottoms – by Kip Keen (Mineweb.com – January 23, 2014)

January 23, 2014

http://www.mineweb.com/

Rob McEwen sees a market bottom forming and speaks about not missing it, among other matters.

VANCOUVER BC (MINEWEB) – Last Friday Mineweb’s Kip Keen spoke with Rob McEwen the chief owner of McEwen Mining. In a wide-ranging interview, McEwen weighs in on the impact of Goldcorp’s hostile bid for Osisko on the mining sector, growth through M&A at McEwen mining, assessment of junior companies and market bottoms. And not missing them.

Kip Keen: The Goldcorp takeover bid for Osisko has generated a lot of excitement. What are your thoughts on it?

Rob McEwen: The takeover in general is a symptom or an illustration of the consolidation that’s been happening in the industry. And I think it will pick up pace as we move into this year. It’s showing to investors that you can make money in this market; that it’s been overlooked with people thinking there’s no opportunity here. I think the biggest risk to investors is missing the run we’re going to have in these stocks.

KK: Do you think it’s fair to say that management teams and shareholders are more willing to accept M&A now after the long, tough couple of years we’ve had?

Gold bull market ‘firmly in rear view mirror’: TD – by John Shmuel (National Post – January 22, 2014)

January 22, 2014

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

Gold investors hoping to make up last year’s massive losses may be in for a disappointment as analysts now expect gold prices to stay stagnant over the next couple of years.

TD senior economist Sonya Gulati said gold is likely to spend the next two years “stabilizing” after experiencing a serious rout in 2013. The precious metal declined 28% on the year to US$1,200 an ounce, a far cry from its all-time record of US$1,921.15

“We project that gold prices will stabilize over the next two years, hovering around US$1,175 in 2014, before rebounding to US$1,280 in 2015,” she said. Meanwhile, a Reuters poll released Tuesday shows that the 37 analysts surveyed are forecasting gold will finish 2014 at an average price of US$1,235 an ounce, while essentially remaining unchanged in 2015 at US$1,260 an ounce.

Furthermore, the spread between the highest and lowest forecasts is only half its usual size, which suggests most analysts believe gold prices will be little changed over the next two years, which would be a divergence from the extremes that gold prices have experienced in the past decade.

UPDATE 1-Timmins Gold joins new mining rush to equity markets – by Euan Rocha (Reuters U.S. – January 22, 2014)

January 22, 2014

http://www.reuters.com/

Jan 22 (Reuters) – Timmins Gold Corp, which owns the San Francisco gold mine in Mexico, said on Wednesday it will sell C$25 million ($22.7 million) in equity to a syndicate of banks, the latest in a slew of recent share offerings from Canadian miners.

The Timmins deal, designed to strengthen its balance sheet, builds on a wave of offerings that may signal a thaw in the financing environment for miners, which have long been out of favor with investors.

The bank syndicate, led by RBC Capital Markets, will buy the shares at C$1.50 each, a significant discount to Timmins’ closing price of C$1.73 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday. The transaction was done as a bought deal.

A bought deal occurs when an underwriter, or a syndicate, buy shares from an issuer before selling them to the public.

While these deals typically occur at a slight discount to a company’s last trading price, the large discount that Timmins agreed to underscores the challenges still facing gold miners.

NEWS RELEASE: Osisko Board recommends shareholders reject Goldcorp’s opportunistic hostile offer

January 22, 2014

(Montreal, January 20, 2014) — Osisko Mining Corporation (“Osisko” or the “Company”) (TSX: OSK; Deutsche Boerse: EWX) announces today that its Board of Directors, on the recommendation of its Special Committee, unanimously recommends that Osisko shareholders (“Osisko Shareholders”) REJECT the hostile take-over bid (“the Goldcorp Offer”) launched by Goldcorp Inc. (“Goldcorp”) on January 14, 2014 and NOT TENDER their Osisko shares to the Goldcorp Offer.

After careful consideration and discussion, the Special Committee and Board of Directors have determined, following analysis by the Board of Directors with financial and legal advice, that the Offer is financially inadequate and not in the best interests of Osisko. Goldcorp’s Offer significantly undervalues Osisko’s world-class Canadian Malartic mine, and the rest of the Company’s portfolio of high-potential projects in North America. The premium offered by Goldcorp, as well as the transaction multiples implied by the offer, are both significantly below the relevant precedents.

The Board of Directors and management of Osisko remain focused on delivering superior value to shareholders. Osisko believes the true strategic value of the Company’s assets will be demonstrated as the review of value-maximizing alternatives progresses. It is important to note that, while Osisko has had several preliminary discussions with Goldcorp over the past five years, those discussions have never led to a credible proposal from Goldcorp.

Bristow warns on Kibali gold mine – Don’t rock the boat! – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – January 21, 2014)

January 21, 2014

http://www.mineweb.com/

Building the big Kibali gold mine in the DRC has been a remarkable achievement but Randgold CEO, Mark Bristow, warns against the status quo being adversely affected by possible future legislation.

LONDON (MINEWEB) – In a media presentation in Kinshasa, Randgold CEO Mark Bristow has set out the company’s achievement in bringing the big Kibali gold mine in the north eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) into production and highlighted some specifics.

Commenting, though, that this remains very much a work in progress as development continues, he also used the presentation to perhaps advise the DRC government not to tinker with possible forthcoming new mining legislation so as to undo the great work done in building the new mining operation with all the advantages it has brought to the area in which the mine is located and to the DRC in general.

“At the national level” Bristow commented, “government is urged to take care that its proposed revision of the Mining Code does not deter further investment in the development of the country’s mineral wealth and rather work with us and other investors to build on what we have all worked so hard to deliver.” In other words – ‘please don’t rock the boat!’